


The Small Matter of the Safety of The Universe

by Sapphire_Princess



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), Stargate SG-1
Genre: 00Q - Freeform, Crossover, F/M, I will always love Jonas Quinn, M/M, Tanner is a Daniel Jackson fanboy, fishing doesn't need any actual fish, my first and current fandom meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphire_Princess/pseuds/Sapphire_Princess
Summary: None of them are particularly amused to be called into work at 4 am for an international emergency but their interests are piqued when it's clear it's on a much larger scale.
Relationships: Gareth Mallory|M/R, James Bond/Q, Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Kudos: 24
Collections: 007 Fest Fancreations





	The Small Matter of the Safety of The Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time, under my other writing name (Arami Heartilly on FF.net) I used to write Stargate Fanfiction. Didn't think I'd be doing so again but 007 Fest 2020 had other ideas.  
> So, yeah.

Neither James nor Q were particularly happy to have been woken up 4 am and called into work. But given they’re head of the Double O program and Q respectively, when there’s a national emergency this is to be expected. 

M and R are already there; likely because they stayed the night at R’s flat. She greets Q with a hug, leaning into her brother before doing to same to James. 

“Any idea what this is about?” James asks M.

“None. Only that it’s highly classified. Moneypenny and Tanner will be joining us. R was asked for specifically,” he says, looking to her regretfully. 

R shrugs. “It happens. National emergencies don’t care that we’ve had 4 hours sleep.” 

M presses a mug of tea into her hands and puts his arm around her. 

“S has been called in too.”

Q frowns. “Why so many of Q branch?”

“No idea. They’ve agreed to meet us in your briefing room,” he tells Q. “It has adequate security, whatever they mean by that.”

“Interesting,” Bond comments, taking his own coffee and following everyone down. Eve joins them, S not far behind. 

They get set up and sat down. All of them a mix of grumpy and intrigued. 

Tanner leads five people into the room. At the sight of the second and fourth entrants, Q and R share a look as Tanner gestures to their visitors. 

“Retired General Jack O’Neill, retired General Samantha Carter, Doctor Jonas Quinn, Doctor Naomi Witters, Doctor Daniel Jackson.”

“That’s O’Neill with two Ls,” O’Neill tells them. “Sorry to drag you all out of bed, folks. Can’t say we were planning on being here either but that was.... out of our hands.”

They’re introduced in turn, M stands to shake hands and offer seats.

Q grants them access to the projector and the closed system internet access in the room. 

James taps on Q’s leg in morse code _‘who do you know?’_

_‘Carter and Witters. R went to uni with Witter’s cousin, Bethany.’_

To her credit, Naomi does give R a tiny wave before taking her seat. 

“You guys all okay with first names? Taken us a while to get out of the habit,” Jack asks, the others nod. 

“As long as you don’t mind some of us using our titles.”

Jack shrugs. “That’s fair. Sam?”

The woman at his side stands and, having already connected her laptop up, she starts the presentation. 

“I’m a Doctor of astrophysics, as I think at least two of you know.” She gives Q and R a smile before continuing. “And a lot of my work has involved working with different operating systems over the years. Some more unique than others. But we had a communication from some allies about a message they’d received. But no-one has been able to crack it. Which is why we were called in but although myself, Jonas, and Naomi got close... we’re running out of time. And we need a more specialist approach.”

“Hence MI6?” Q asked. “Why us?”

“Reputation,” Sam admits. “We’re aware of certain... impressive triumphs you’ve proved yourself capable of, Q. As well as R and S. Don’t worry; even with our clearance we don’t know your names. Just your achievements.” She turns to Naomi.

“I haven’t told them, don’t worry,” she reassures R. Naomi is tall with a tan complexion and curly brown hair currently being held in check, with several scrunchies, in a bun. If James had to guess he’d say she was in her early forties but she could easily pass for younger. She’s the youngest of all their visitors, even Jonas seems at least ten years her senior; despite the youthfulness in his eyes.

“Naomi is my American contact,” R says. 

“I always thought she was CIA,” James comments. 

R shakes her head. “I’ve never been sure what she does but I know she and her family live in Colorado Springs. And she has clearance.”

M, who has been talking quietly with Eve, looks at their guests. “Before we agree to help you, where are you from? And what exactly do you need my staff for?”

“The SGC,” Sam tells them and something flickers in M’s expression. 

“Which stands for?”

“Stargate Command.”

M looks at the group, then his own people. “There have been a few... incidents over the years the government has had to cover up. I was involved in one of them and I heard of another in Antarctica before that. But it was always need to know.”

Jack shrugs. “At this point I’ll be happy to tell you whatever you want, M. Whether or not you’ll believe it is a different matter. But let Sam explain what we need you to do first.”

M nods and relaxed back in his seat. “Go ahead.”

***

“So there’s a message in.... this? And you’ve managed to interface with it but not gotten any further?” Q asks Doctor Carter. 

R and S are with him, Jonas and Naomi are working away on their own computers, plugging into the second closed-set-up to try and have them all working on this together. 

“Correct. We’ve tried several approaches but we can’t find a commonality that’ll crack it open well enough.”

“Alright. On a scale of one to ten, how vital is it we do this and how long do we have?” He asks. 

“Maybe a week. Probably less. It’s vital we work out what it says, and why. Then we’ll hand it back to the SGC and they’ll do the rest.”

“Hand it back?”

Jonas waves his hand. “That’ll be me and Naomi; but Jack, Sam, and Daniel were brought along for the, ah. Ride.”

“How did you get here?” R asks. 

Naomi and Jonas grimace. “Not really enough time to explain,” says Jonas. 

None of the others look convinced. 

But, given in the last hour they’ve been told inter-planetary travel is not only possible, it’s been happening frequently on earth at various points in history, through a device called a Stargate... well. It’s been an enlightening morning. 

Finding out that the SGC is to the world what MI6 and the CIA are to their respective countries and then some... is, well, a lot to take in.

James had out-and-out laughed when they’d told them, instantly berating the lack of alcohol in the vicinity. 

“R? S? Let’s see what we can do,” Q says to them, plugging in a Q Branch lap top and loading it up. 

Naomi and Jonas have listed everything they’d tried, then Sam’s efforts on top of it. It’s easy enough for R to check it, S to take his approach and Q to do the same. They have their efforts on separate larger screens so they can take a look at what someone else is doing should they need to chime in. 

***

“Are you sure we can trust them, M?” Eve asks, looking at their guests warily. 

“Yes.” 

“You seem very certain about people you barely knew existed before today.”

“I’ve been aware of them for years but there wasn’t any proof. They do seem to be missing someone.”

Jack, walking past at that moment says, “Teal’c? Tall guy, mark on his forehead, sometimes got something going on here,” he says gesturing to his chin.

“That’s him, yes.”

“He’s off-world with family or I’m sure he’d have ended up here too.” 

Eve seems to trust M’s opinion of their new-comers so he turns back to Jack. 

“You said you were dragged into this?”

“We didn’t even have time to call a baby sitter. Not that teenagers think they need one.” He rolls his eyes. “Naomi’s husband picked them up and they’ll stay with him and their kids for however long this takes.”

“We?”

A warmth enters Jack’s eyes. “Me and Sam. We’re married, have been pretty much since I retired. We have two kids, girl and a boy. But no matter how much we love them, leaving them alone for a week is not happening.”

“Sensible decision,” Eve agrees. 

“Exactly. Jonas, Naomi, and Daniel work at the SGC but I retired shortly after leaving; couldn’t take anymore time away from Sam. And she retired last year after running the place for the last decade.”

Daniel is charting away with Tanner in the corner, who, as it turns out has read Doctor Jackson’s books.

“And you were part of SG1?” M asks.

“You seem to know a lot about us,” Jack says, not unkindly. 

M shrugs. “I’ve kept my eyes and ears open and pretended not to know or notice anything unusual. I’ve slowly put things together over the years.”

“Are you military?”

“I was. Lieutenant Colonel, SAS.”

“Impressive. And now you run this place?”

“I do, yes. But not alone. James runs the Double O program, Eve is my second in command, and Bill is chief of staff. More of a joint effort.”

“Sounds a bit like the SGC. I only ran it for two years and that was enough for me. How Sam managed ten is beyond me. With two kids and me at home.”

“It’s probably why she managed it,” Eve says, regarding Jack carefully. “Forgive me for asking, but if yourself and Sam were in the same chain of command.”

Jack stops her. “We didn’t. For a long time. And then, a few things happened all at once and I resigned. Tried to retire, ended up in Washington for a year then I forcefully retired and we got married.”

It’s clear there’s a lot more to it than that but it’s neither the time or the place to discuss it. M does, however, find himself looking to R; grateful they can have what they do without such regulations in place. 

“Are you married?” Jack asks, noticing. 

“No, we’re not in any rush.”

Eve rolls her eyes. “What he means is they’re happy taking their time. Bond and Q are married and I’m beginning to think there’s no end to the honeymoon period.”

Bond seems to be lurking around Q and the others, watching the screens, no doubt incase he spots something.”

“Must be nice, not being subjected to regulations,” Jack says with a tone that speaks of old hurt. 

“It is,” M admits. “I’m grateful every day.”

***  
S takes a step back. 

“Everything alright?” Q asks, not looking up. 

“I wanted to take a better look.”

Q accepts this with a nod. S is, after all a mathematical prodigy they rescued from MI5. He thinks that their new friends probably know more about him than they’re letting on otherwise they wouldn’t have asked for him. 

Then he remembers; R’s American contact had gotten hold of the info they needed when they were trying to find him - via Leiter. So even if the SGC didn’t, she did. 

James brings a fresh round of drinks for them, a habit borne of so much time in Q Branch and Q gets back to work.

***

“Doctor Jackson, Daniel. There’s just something I have to ask.”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“You’ve been declared dead twice in the last 15 years. And, well, what happened?”

Daniel laughs, but still looks pained. “I was actually dead, mostly.”

Tanner’s eyebrows raise. “Mostly? Legally or?”

“Legally as well. I died of radiation poisoning, and a couple of other things. My, ah, soul ascended to a higher plain where I stayed for a while.”

“Oh. Bond is usually our resident resurrectionist but as far as I know, he hasn’t ascended.”

“From what I’ve seen of his file he wouldn’t have been accepted, far too much of a moral compass.”

“He’ll be happy to hear you say that, as long as no one else is listening. And we’re not sure how he does it but he’s been passing on his tricks to the current Double O roster.”

Daniel smiles. “Tell me, Bill, is working here as exciting as it sounds?”

Tanner laughs. “You’ve been to other worlds and you want to know if spying and paperwork is exciting?”

“I didn’t always want to be an archaeologist,” Daniel says. “There was a whole summer where I wanted to be a spy.”

“Exciting here is reserved for victories, for most of us. The agents tend to enjoy their work - some of them perhaps too much. They’re reckless but they get the job done.”

“Sounds familiar,” Daniel agrees. 

“So, about the pyramids,” Tanner comments hopefully.

***

“Shit.”

“S?” Q asks.

“Q, can you bring it all up. Everything you have on your screen? R, the same please,” S instructs, whispering under his breath as he watches the numbers. “How many languages in the database you first ran it through?” he asks.

“All known current and past earth languages and dialects, plus our alien language database. We also cross-references it with all the mathematical and numeric systems too,” Naomi tells him.

S is nodding and goes up to the screen.

“It’s numeric, likely deliberately; most common language.”

The others are nodding. “We’d got that far,” Jonas says. “But not any further. Nothing seemed to crack it and we couldn’t work out the second, or maybe third layer, of encryption.”

“This isn’t a message from a friend then, or if it is it was passed to you by an ally but written by an enemy,” Q comments, thinking out loud. Somehow, knowing interplanetary politics is the same as it is on earth is comforting. And disappointing but there isn’t time for that now.

“We’re trying to avoid a Coventry,” Naomi says, meeting Q’s eyes. 

“Ah.”

Jonas is the only one who seems confused about the reference, so Naomi explains quietly whilst Q and R follow S’ lead on this.

***

It takes them two days.

At one point R is so delirious with exhaustion she slips into Japanese and stays that way for the next few hours. Luckily, Naomi also speaks it so she keeps the others informed with whatever is going on in R’s head when James isn't with them.

When they crack it she nearly collapses and when Q goes to catch her before she falls, James ends up supporting both of them.

A gruff. “I Told you to get some sleep,” as he hands R to M and carries Q - Princess style - to the bunks still kept in branch for these kinds of situations; minus the intergalactic emergencies. That’s new.

R is still grumbling in Japanese when she slips unconscious, her shoes removed and a blanket thrown over her. Both she and Q had opted for quick showers that morning to wake them up rather than taking a nap.

S is still typing away when they come back in and James marvels at how on earth he’s still awake. He’s no younger than the others. 

Everyone else has slept during the past 48 hours so they’re in reasonable condition, but when he turns around and M isn’t following him, he thinks he must have crashed out with R.

“Do you have what you need?” he asks Jack.

“Yeah, once S has finished whatever he’s doing Naomi will get it sent over. I get the feeling we’ll been making a civilian return journey.”

“You don’t need to go back?”

Jack, and Sam who’s sat next to him, her head on his shoulder, shake their heads. 

“No. Not now we know the coding is enough. And none of us work on the mission teams anymore; Jonas and Naomi both used to be SG1 as well but they’re now running the science department - it has a fancier name but that’s what it is.”

James has spent a lot of time talking with both former airforce generals, sharing stories, and narrow escapes. James wonders if he’d taken a different path - if they all had - would they have ended up working for the SGC? It’s certainly possible. But he’s grateful they didn’t - some of the things they’ve lived - and died through - are terrifying, even to him.

“Well, you can stay here and we’ll get you on flights in the morning.”

“Send the SGC the bill, seriously,” Jack tells him. “For all of this. I will be and my consultancy fees are not cheap.”

Sam laughs and elbows her husband. “Although that’s not a bad idea. They won’t be calling on us unless we’re actually needed for this next time.”

James chuckles, shaking his head.

“Okay, we’ll get some sleep. Might as well do some site seeing in the morning before we leave. It’s been years since we’ve been to London,” Jack says, then turns to James. “I remember you now, you’re the agent who escorted the Queen to the Olympics.”

“I am, yes. But I rarely see her now.”

“So no tea with the Queen?” He shrugs when James shakes his head. “Worth a shot. I can’t count the number of presidents, kings and queens of worlds we’ve met but not the Queen.”

Sam takes Jack’s hand and they bid James a good night.

He watches them go, shaking his head fondly and keeping watch over those still working.

***

“Are you sure that’s okay?” M asks, looking from their guests to Eve.

“Yeah, the kids will probably be disappointed if we’re back so soon so why not?” Jack says.

“Alright,” Eve agrees. “I’ll get you booked on for tomorrow. Daniel, Jonas, and Naomi can take the evening flight.”

“Sounds good to me,” Naomi tells her. “Thanks so much.”

“Why don’t you show them around?” James suggests to M. “You and R had your last night off ruined by all this; me and Eve can look after things today and we’ll call you if we need you. Q’ll be in Branch, S’ husband is coming to collect him soon so you might as well.”

R looks to M and waits for his decision. 

“We wouldn’t mind the company,” Sam says.

“Great, well, give us an hour and we’ll head out. You have the clothes Eve acquired?” M says.

“Yes, thank you. We’ll grab a shower and change. Are we staying here tonight?” 

M looks to R, who nods.

“You’re welcome to stay at the house tonight, leave your things with Eve or Bill and they’ll be in the car when we’re picked up later.”

***  
“I take it there’s a reason we’re not exploring on our own?” Jack asks his wife.

“Probably the same reason James suggested it in the first place.”

“Carter,” he warns, using it as the term of endearment it had always been.

“Jack?” Sam raises her eyebrows in challenge.

He sighs and rubs his hands through his damp hair. “You want to talk to her, R.”

“I have some idea what she’s been through.”

“You know they’re together?” Jack asks.

“I do, yes.”

“But?”

“But I think they could both do with some reassurance,” Sam says.

“From complete strangers?”

“Sometimes it’s easier coming from someone outside the situation.”

Jack looks away. “Not always.”

Sam steps closer and takes his hands in hers. “Jack, I’m not denying they have it much easier than we do; they only had to dance around each other for three years not… not eight. But there’s a reluctance in them both that worries me. Maybe it’s only in the workplace and not outside of it, and they’re good people. And M likes fishing.”

“Okay, yeah. He understands that fish aren’t the point, which is rare these days, but I don’t know what I’m going to say to him.”

“Unless it comes up don’t say anything about it.”

Jack sighs then leans in to rest his forehead against Sam’s.

“Okay, Carter, let's do this.”

They share a kiss before he pulls her into his arms and holds her close as if by doing so he can erase the years gone by they spent wanting to. That they’ve been together longer than they’ve been apart doesn’t completely make it better.

He thinks this might be why Sam wants to help R and M.

***

“So, Laura, have you been here before?” Jack and Sam had asked to see the National Gallery, which had M and R - Gareth and Laura - barely repressing laughter on the way here.

“A few times, yes.” She bits her lip then explains. “James and my brother had their wedding reception here; we hired it out after they owed us a favour.”

“The whole place?”

R shakes her head. “No, just The Sackler Room and those directly connected.”

“Is there a story there?”

“They met in front of the Fighting Temeraire and James thought it would make for a memorable evening - along with the caveat that everyone had to behave themselves.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“It was,” Laura says with a smile.

They head up the steps, then come back together as a group. 

Sam watches as M takes R’s hand and they stand closer to each other, relaxed and happy in the presence of each other. They do get the odd look from passers-by - she is notably younger than him - but this doesn’t seem to bother either of them.

Sam is starting to think it is to do with work rather than anything else, but when Jack and Gareth indicate going to the new exhibit, Laura agrees to show Sam round.

M kisses her and they hug, whispering between themselves and arranging a time and place to rendezvous later on.

Jack and Sam share their own goodbyes then they’re off.

“Gareth says you have children,” Laura comments, as they’re wandering around the Gallery. 

“We do. Alison and Jake. 17 and 13. Do any of you have kids?”

“That you’ve met? Only Bill; he and his wife have two, the rest of us are more inclined towards pets; although I think S and his husband are looking into adoption.”

“Pets?”

“Cats, mostly. Though I have two hognose snakes as well; they live with Gareth, mostly, but we go between the house and my flat so it works out well enough for all of us.”

Sam’s eyebrows raise.

“What?” Laura asks.

“Nothing, it’s just, didn’t expect you to say snakes.”

“Oh, huh. Fair enough. They’re lovely though and the cutest snakes. If you like I can introduce you to them later, but equally, you don’t have to.”

“No, I’m used to reptiles; my niece breeds fat-tailed geckos. Jack’s not too keen on them though.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Geckos are lovely,” R comments with a wistful expression. Sam imagines she’d like to add those to her family as well.

“Is this the room?” she asks, noting the name painted in gold in the green room.

“Yeah. That’s the painting right there, though they’ve changed the seating since.”

“How exactly did they meet here?”

“Do you remember the attack on MI6 in 2012?”

“Yeah. It made the news all over the US.”

“Well, there wasn’t exactly anywhere for my brother to set up properly; there were so many cables it was a hazard to those of us who knew what we were doing. So he chose to meet with James here. Because he likes the painting.”

“It clearly went well,” Sam comments, moving to get a closer look.

“They had a verbal sparring match, but it sounds more like flirting to me, and they earned each other's trust.” Laura lowers her voice. “They’re good together, I don’t think I could have asked for anyone better for my brother.”

Sam, thinking of her own introduction to Jack grimaces slightly, but there’s a certain fondness there too after so many years.

“How about you and Gareth?”

R’s smile widens. “I was the technical advisor on a project he was working on. We got on and, well, made sure to stay in each other’s orbit. We didn’t actually get together until he took the job where we are now and even then I wasn’t sure.” Her smile falters. “When he asked to talk to me I thought he was going to tell me we couldn’t be together but instead, we talked. Properly and, as we’d met before, and he wasn’t technically in my direct report chain, there wasn’t anything stopping us.”

Sam puts his arm around Laura, who seems a little teary.

“Are you happy?” she asks.

“Yes. Very, did it seem like we’re not?” Laura asks.

“I wasn’t sure. You both seemed… wary around each other.”

“That’s only because we’re not used to newcomers and whenever people hear we’re together, for the first time, they can get suspicious. The scrutiny never does anything but put us on edge so we slip into professional mode.”

“Oh. That explains it.”

Laura looks at her. “You were worried about us?”

Sam nods, letting go as they head into the next room, where a series of beautiful Monet’s are on display.

“Our whole team knew what we felt for each other - Jack and I - but we couldn’t be together without one of us leaving and the planet literally needed us. Teal’c used to cover for us and make sure we were okay when one of us was MIA. Daniel took the longest to realise; even Jonas, who hadn’t known us nearly as long, worked it out.”

“That must have been hard,” Laura says softly. “I’m sorry. It might be awkward at work sometimes but I can go home to him or with him and it makes it worth it.”

“Yeah. It really does.”

“Would you like a hug?” Laura asks.

Sam nods and lets the younger woman pull her close and give her the kind of hugs she’s used to getting from Naomi; all-encompassing, warm, and supporting.

She feels a little lighter afterwards.

***

“Is there something you want to ask me?” 

Jack rubs the back of his head, not sure whether he should or not. 

“I can already tell it’s about Laura.” He sounds fond even when he says her name. 

“Yeah, I have a question but it’s none of my business.”

Gareth shrugs. “You don’t strike me as someone who usually lets that get in the way.”

“True. But I like you and I don’t wanna piss you off.”

“Probably wise. But you can still ask.”

Jack takes a moment then decides to go ahead. “What would you have done if instead of being together, your job meant you couldn’t be?”

Gareth has had plenty of time to consider this so he answers straight away. “Stayed long enough to make sure Eve could take my place and James was settled into his new position. Then I’d have left."

“For Laura?”

Gareth’s smile is wistful. “That’s part of it, certainly. After three years I knew what I felt for her wasn’t just a passing fancy. And that she felt the same. That was before we even worked in the same building - let alone the same part of the country.  
“  
But this job takes so much out of me that without something outside of it, without Laura, I’m not certain how long I could have done it for.”

“And if the planet was at risk?”

“I’d have given my higher-ups an ultimatum. Because Laura giving up her work is nonnegotiable unless she wants to.” Jack looks surprised. “It’s different here. Laura’s second in command to her brother, her brother is married to James. Yet we’ve proven all along that we work better the way we do; but it isn’t against the rules here. And, in all honesty, if I thought someone higher up cared more about the correct way of doing things than the safety of the world I might make the same choice you did.”

“Hammond would have covered for us. He made that clear once he’d retired but he had enough going on with his superiors and the government to have to worry about me and Sam as well.”

“Sounds like a good man.”

“He was.” Jack swallows and takes a breath.

“I’m sorry.”

“He lived a good life, and a long one. We all miss him.”

“My predecessor was the same for some of the others; she died just before retirement but she’d never wanted to retire anyway.”

“But not for you?”

Gareth shakes his head, a harsh chuckle escaping. “No. I was the person in charge of arranging her retirement. No one was more surprised than me that she’d named me as the only suitable successor. Whether out of spite or not, we’ve done the best we can and things are better.”

“Same with us. Sam’s handed over to someone who not only served on our old team but knows what he’s doing.”

“I’m sorry you spent so long apart,” Gareth tells him a while later, on their way to meet up with Sam and Laura.

“Yeah. Me too. But we have a life together now and it’s good, plus earth is still here, so…”

Gareth agrees and catches sight of Laura, he knows he’s smiling and Jack is watching him but it’s with a solidarity he hadn’t expected.

***

They take them to a few other places, all quiet due to the overcast weather, and then drive back to M’s house.

“Jack, Sam said you’re not so good with snakes so avoid the study with the anchor on the door,” Laura tells him, then takes her phone from her pocket. “James, and Q want to come for dinner. Apparently Tanner and Eve have the helm,” she calls to Gareth, who’s in the kitchen.

“Tell them that’s fine as long as they eat whatever I cook.”

Laura replies to them, laughing at the reply she gets. “They’re already on their way over.”

Gareth rolls his eyes, popping back into the entrance hall. “I almost expected it.”

They leave Jack and Sam in the main lounge and head to the kitchen.

“You okay?” Laura asks, sitting herself up on the counter next to him.

Gareth finishes putting everything on the side and comes to stand in front of her.

“I’m fine, but now I know you had a similar conversation to me at some point today.” She puts her arms around his neck, her eyes closing when his forehead presses to hers.

“Yeah,” she says. “But I think Sam needed it more than I did.”

Gareth slips his arms around her back and pulls her close to him, so she’s surrounded by his warmth. “I couldn’t have spent eight years loving you and not being with you,” he tells her.

“Nor could I. But I’d never be cleared for fieldwork anyway so I don’t think it’s the same thing.”

“No, it isn’t.” He kisses her. “Still, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

The evening is good; Jack, it turns out, opened a fish bar and grill once he realised most of retirement was boring when the kids started school.

James actually ends up inadvertently explaining a situation they’d come across a few years ago but had no idea it involved aliens; apparently he’d been advising one of the other Double Os and, well, it had worked out for the best but left the SGC with more questions than answers until now.

***  
By the time they’re ready to leave the next day, contact information has been exchanged and an invite has been passed on for them to visit Colorado Springs if they have the time.

In the car on the way to MI6 the morning after, James is smiling to himself.

“However you’re planning on getting them to invite you on a mission through the stargate, don’t,” Q warns.

“Oh, I won’t be going alone. I wouldn’t leave you on earth without me,” James teases.

R rolls her eyes and lays her head back on M’s shoulder.

“I’m not authorising any of it,” she hears him say. “You’re all needed here. Or, rather, the universe is safer with you on planet.”

“Precisely,” Q agrees.

"Why did you suggest me and R take them out yesterday?" M asks, voicing something R herself had wanted to ask last night but hadn't found the opportunity.

"So you could have a day off and enjoy yourselves to make up for the lost sleep," James says.

"That's all?" M presses.

"And they looked a little lost as to what to do with themselves. If you'd said no Q and I would have gone instead."

Q nods his agreement and M, seeming satisfied, puts his arm around R to draw her closer.

They’re almost there when R sits up.

“Um, I know we won’t be telling anyone but they didn’t make us sign anything.”

“Oh,” Q comments. “That might prove useful in the future, I’m not sure how. And not as a bargaining chip to leave earth, James.”

“We’ll ask them about it next time,” M says.

“Next time?” James asks, frowning.

“There’s always a next time, especially given we helped save the earth.” He looks around them and catches R’s smile.

She nods in agreement, taking his hand as they walk through the carpark, James and Q involved in their version of flirting as they get into the lift to Q branch.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact! I didn't think I would ever love a paring as much as I loved Jack/Sam and it stayed that way for well over 15 years until James Bond and Q came along.


End file.
